Nothing is as dangerous as the fury of a woman scorned. Ash could verify the truthfulness of that statement by observing Misty's behavior since they left for their shopping trip.
She even dressed angry, wearing whatever she could grab from her dresser. It reminded him of the old Misty that valued function and comfort over appearance. A pair of jean shorts, a beige tank top and olive green hoodie, rounded off with a pair of white sneakers.
She even wore the sideways ponytail again.
Ash had yet to see an outfit she didn't make look drop dead gorgeous or irresistibly cute. No doubt in his mind remained about his feelings towards this impossible creature, both in romantic and carnal nature.
Thank Arceus, Pikachu was a heavy sleeper, or he would have to explain his private urges during the nightly bath breaks since they got here. Seeing Misty in a sexy swimsuit had almost broken his male mind and Ash developed a pretty good understanding how Brock felt about ninety percent of the breathing female population.
Which made his decision to take it slow all the more agonizing, but making up for lost time didn't mean he would rush headfirst into things.
Misty deserved better than being the target of a directionless and hormonally challenged guy barely out of puberty.
Another poke in his cheek from a yellow paw informed Ash that he'd been brooding again. Pikachu truly was a lifesaver in these situations. And luckily, Misty and Leaf were too occupied with stewing in anger and childish excitement respectively to notice.
Practised to change on command, Ash put on a convincing smile for both of them. "So, where do you want to go first?"
You could almost see the grey cloud hanging over Misty's head as she spoke. "The job center to find new employment after embarrassing myself like an idiot."
"Come on Misty, the boy had a sound strategy and pulled it off flawlessly. There is no shame losing to something like that."
"Would you have lost?"
"I'm not for debate here..."
He avoided the issue and Misty was not having it. "Yes of course, the invincible champion can't fathom to lose..."
For a while now, there were these flickers of jealousy Ash could pick up in Misty's voice whenever she taunted him with his title. He didn't put much weight into it at first, thinking they simply hadn't found their old rhythm of tease and release yet.
"Would you want to switch places with me?" Quite honestly, he was getting tired of the constant reminder to his greatest disappointment.
A fact, Misty seemed to realize after looking at him. "No, I wouldn't…"
"See? Just think about not being me and you'll feel better in no time." A self-deprecating sense of humor had the interesting feature of soothing the pain of others by emphasizing your own.
Getting so bent out of shape by a single loss suddenly felt very silly to Misty. In comparison to Ash and Leaf, her problems were minor at best and she didn't want to be the one complaining the loudest.
"Should we get clothes for Leaf first?"
The girl in question had her nose pressed against the glass of a shop from a pokemon breeder. In the showcase window was a new batch of freshly hatched Eevee, playing and jumping around.
Ash and Misty joined her on each side and watched the pokemon with her.
"They are cute," Misty crouched down to get a better look at a Eevee licking the window from the inside. "This breed is excellent for Coordinator contests but not much for actual battling."
"What's the difference?" Leaf asked.
The Eevee tried to lick Misty's hand through the glass. "They choose parents with qualities which are sought after in contests like grace and dexterity to pass it on to the next generation."
Leaf's expression dimmed a bit."Isn't that cheating?"
"It's not illegal." Ash answered in an even tone.
"You don't sound like you approve."
"Nothing escapes you," He pulled off Leaf's cap for a moment to ruffle through her hair. "I always believed what we can achieve is decided by determination and hard work, not talent and good genetics."
Leaf fell silent, deep in thought while Misty couldn't take off her eyes from the young man staring blankly at the Eevee. Sometimes Ash seemed to grow older, all the levity and energy leaving his body until only a jaded husk remained.
"Do you want one?"
"No, sir." Leaf shook her head. "I want to catch my second pokemon after defeating it together with Rattata."
Fire reignited behind his vacant expression with a matching smile. "Then we should get you both in fighting shape as soon as possible!"
Leaf gasped in excitement while Misty and Pikachu gave him floored looks. The girl was way too young for serious training and especially Pikachu knew from experience what training with Ash would entail.
"But first we have to update your wardrobe. Can't have my new pupil run around like a vagabond."
Ash took the girl by the hand and led her towards the nearest boutique for women's clothing. Leaf marveled at the size difference of their hands, her own completely vanishing in between the comforting grip of his big calloused fingers.
She felt completely safe.
"Why do I look like the third wheel in this constellation?" Misty asked with a sigh but smiled at the display. Pikachu retreated from Ash's shoulder and relocated to hers, equally forgotten for the moment by the teacher and his new student. "They look adorable together, don't they?"
Pikachu agreed with a nod, deep in thought about how to call the newest addition to Pikapi's pack. "Pi… Pipi… Pipi-Chu!"
Pipi-Chu was the perfect name for the girl and the little pokemon patted himself on the back for coming up with it on the fly. As part of their pack, she had the blessing of Ash's pokemon to get close to him without constant supervision. Their trainer made a lot of enemies over the years and without other humans like Pikachu-Pi to keep him safe, all of them had become a lot more protective of Pikapi.
Most of all, the little mouse considered himself as the last line of defense against the dangers of the world and would not fail again.
Never again.
Misty and Pikachu entered the building just in time to see poor Leaf completely overwhelmed by all the possible choices of clothing. Misty felt like a fish out of water herself, never having put much consideration into fashion beyond the absolute basics.
Funnily enough, it was Ash who turned out to be the most helpful and kneeled down to the wide-eyed child. "What's your favourite color?"
"Is black a color?"
"Yes, it is. I guess red is your second favourite color then?" Ash suddenly felt very nostalgic. "You know Leaf, back in the day I used to have contact with a group of colleagues who really managed to rock the color white."
Ash winked at her on the word colleagues and Leaf giggled secretively behind her hand.
"There are several ways to put an outfit together; start with the underwear and follow the layers outward, first top than bottom or choose an accessory and dress yourself around it."
Leaf touched her black cap with reverie and Ash smiled. "Bingo!"
Misty poked him in the side with a finger. "You are weirdly knowledgeable about women's clothing. I guess all the times you put yourself into dresses in the past has to pay off somehow."
"If you only knew the half of it…"
She gave him a curious look and he smiled at her without indulging any further. The smile stayed adamantly during the whole process of buying a complete new wardrobe for Leaf, six bags full filled to the brim with clothing.
After a quick stop for toiletries like toothbrushes and the only brand of deodorant Pikachu could tolerate, they sat down at a local fast food joint with kid friendly decor.
Leaf played with Pikachu at the indoor playground while Ash and Misty ordered food for everyone.
And four dozen packets of ketchup.
"They actually have Pikachu's favorite brand here. Every time we are visiting one of the franchises his eyes light up like on Christmas morning."
"It's funny," Misty took a sip from her strawberry shake and made a face from the sugary taste. "Back then we couldn't afford to eat here. Now we can and we don't want to anymore because our tastes have changed. A lot of things seemed better back then."
Ash realized what Misty was trying to say. She advised him without much subtlety to find something new in his life. Working for her was great, but only a temporary solution and no substitute for a new purpose.
He glanced at Leaf devouring her burger like a starved pokemon and smiled.
He had done that a lot today.
"There he is!"
Their moment of peace and quiet got interrupted by several arriving news teams in their vans and a horde of paparazzi in their wake.
Ash and Pikachu sighed deeply while Misty and Leaf stared in shock at the approaching wave of bodies. The word about his new look had apparently spread wide enough to be recognized again on the streets.
"Mr. Ketchum, what are your comments on the rumours of rampant corruption inside the Pokemon League?"
"What are you plans for the future? Eyewitnesses have seen you around Viridian gym. Are you planning to take over as new gym leader?"
Many more questions about him and everything surrounding him hailed down on Ash. The former champion took it in stride, all but ignoring the press like an inconvenient housefly.
So they changed their focus on the woman with him.
"Miss Waterflower how true are the speculations about a blossoming relationship between you and the champion?"
"I'm trying to eat…"
The first mistake was to answer them, her second to give an answer they could use for something. Several cameras moved closer to get a better look at her meal, trying to get deeply personal information on her from the choice of dessert.
Ash wished that was exaggerated behaviour among journalists.
One camera with a larger objective swung around too quickly and hit Leaf against the temple with its sharp edges. The girl cried out in pain and held the spot with both hands.
Then came the blood. In a slow trickle, it ran through her fingers and the reporters immediately distanced themselves from the sobbing girl but the damage was already done.
Pikachu saw red liquid stain her pale skin and something in him just snapped. Teeth bared and growling, Pikachu's cheeks sparked as his irises turned to slits.
"Get away!" Ash yelled at the crowd and dove for his pokemon. Years of experience had taught the trainer how to handle Pikachu safely and he held the mouse in such a way that the incoming attack wouldn't hit innocent bystanders.
"Chuuuuu!"
Instead it hit the roof, obliterating it completely.
"It's ok, Leaf is ok!" Ash held on, enduring the aftershocks. "Stop fighting! Look at her!"
In the meantime, Misty had the presence of mind to use cold water and a napkin to stop the blood flow.
Leaf's crying turned to quiet sniffling and had a calming effect on Pikachu. Ash held his pokemon close to the chest, petting and mumbling calming words to him until the electrical discharge lessened.
You could already hear the sound of sirens in the distance.
Ash stood up, still cradling a trembling Pikachu. "Take Leaf back home. I will talk with the police."
"No!" Leaf grabbed him by the shirt, burying her head into his stomach. "They will arrest you! Don't leave me!"
The horror scenario before her eyes involved him getting locked away forever. And it would be all her fault for being a whiny child that blew his cover!
She destroyed Team Rocket!
He lifted her up on his left arm, the right already occupied by Pikachu, and whispered into her ear. "They won't, I promise. Be a good Rocket and wait for me, okay?"
Leaf nodded into his neck and let herself be put down. She and Misty watched Ash approach the arriving police cars, getting swallowed by the crowd of reporters forming behind him
"Are you sure everything is going to be alright?" The girl needed consolation and and it fell to Misty to provide it.
"Ash is incredibly tough and can look after himself," she said with enough conviction to convince the girl for now, although Misty really wished he didn't have to for most of his life.
"Can I take your hand?"
Misty smiled and led the girl for the rest of the way home. Soon they arrived, turning the corner to take the long flight of stairs to the gym and a surprise was already waiting for them at the entrance.
A surprise in the form of four girls with travel bags, sitting on their suitcases against the locked doors of Cerulean gym.
"Who are they?" Leaf asked warily, holding Misty's hand tighter when they all shot up from their sitting position.
"Exactly what Ash needs."